Search - Greetje Kauffeld :: Greetje Kauffeld With Jiggs Whigham

Greetje strikes up the Big Band and swings!

J. Levinson | Media, PA USA | 12/25/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Greetje Kauffeld has a very pleasant voice for jazz vocals, mature yet sexy. Jerry Van Rooijen provided sophisticated big band arrangements for the eleven tracks, and the band gets a reasonable amount of solo space, particularly on the thirteen-minute medley of "All the Things You Are/The Song Is You/Polka Dots/So Many Stars/Route 66", which starts with an instrumental verse before Greetje comes in with the second melody. Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" opens the set, taken as a simple swing groove for a verse before they fall into the melodic changes. This approach accents the jazzy harmonics of the composition's structure, embracing Joel into the jazz standard songbook. The Latin medley of "Manha/Aqua/How High the Moon" is another highlight. Conductor Jiggs Whigham probably took all the trombone solos, though there are trumpet and sax breaks also. The Dutch Rias Big Band consists of five trombonists including Jiggs, five trumpets, five saxophones, piano, guitar, bass and drums. Recorded in at SFB Studio in Berlin in September 1996, the CD has excellent clarity. This rewarding modern big band/female vocal set should please fans of the style."